(Hims & Hers)

Hims to offer copies of Wegovy pill at $49 a month for starting dose, Novo threatens legal action

Novo said in a statement that it “will take legal and regulatory action to protect patients, our intellectual property and the integrity of the US gold-standard drug approval framework.”

J. Edward Moreno

2/5/26 8:37AM

Hims & Hers will offer copies of Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy pill at $49 for a starting dose, the company announced Thursday, a sign that the telehealth giant is doubling down on copycat versions of blockbuster weight-loss drugs over forging partnerships with Big Pharma like its peers.

Hims’ product is $100 less than the initial price consumers would pay if buying directly from Novo. For a five-month subscription, patients pay $49 for the first month’s starting dose, then $99 per month, versus the $199 Novo charges. The drugmaker said it “will take legal and regulatory action.”

The news was first reported by Reuters. Hims rose more than 10% in early trading after falling for several days in a row, but gave back those gains and then some by midday. Novo, which has already fallen about 20% since giving a gloomy sales guidance on Tuesday, fell further.

Eli Lilly, Novo’s top competitor, which said yesterday that it expects sales to boom in 2026, also fell in Thursday trading, a sign investors are concerned about Hims’ new offering gaining market share at Lilly’s expense, or that Lilly itself might not be immune to copycat versions of its drugs.

“Billion-dollar question”

Hims’ announcement came right before Novo was scheduled to have a call with analysts. “You’re wasting $49, in my opinion,” Novo CEO Mike Doustdar said in that call.

Novo has a patent on its delivery method for its Wegovy pill, which protects the active ingredient in the pill during digestion. A Hims spokesperson told Sherwood News that its pill uses “liposomal technology that is intended to support absorption.”

The Wegovy pill has has to be taken on an empty stomach followed by a 30-minute fast for it to be absorbed. It is unclear if this is also the case for the version Hims is selling. Hims’ pharmacy partner, Strive, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Unlike branded medications, compounded products don’t undergo clinical trials and are not evaluated for safety and efficacy by the FDA.

In a statement, Novo accused Hims of “illegal mass compounding that poses a significant risk to patient safety” and said it “will take legal and regulatory action to protect patients, our intellectual property and the integrity of the US gold-standard drug approval framework.”

“This is another example of Hims & Hers’ historic behaviour of duping the American public with knock-off GLP-1 products, and the FDA has previously warned them about their deceptive advertising of GLP-1 knock-offs,” a spokesperson said.

Hims characterized Novo’s response as another attempt to demonize more affordable options. “This narrative is as predictable as it is outdated and false,” the company wrote in a post on X.

Michael Botta, president and cofounder of Sesame, a telehealth platform that partners with Novo, noted it’s much harder to personalize pills — which are pressed in large batches — than injectables, which can be taken in various doses from the same vials. He also said it’s “hard to imagine how this can be anywhere near as effective with the tolerability of Wegovy pill.”

“On the delivery method — that’s the billion-dollar question,” Botta said, referring to how the active ingredient is protected during the digestive process. “Novo has spent billions on getting it right, and it’s not easy.”

Novo and Hims have sparred before

The announcement comes after the two companies had an epic falling-out last year.

Hims and other telehealth companies began selling copies of Novo’s injectable weight-loss drug in 2024 while it was in a shortage. Even after the shortage ended, Hims continued to sell copies it says are “personalized” for patients. Novo has expressed frustration that regulators have not cracked down on this legal loophole, and it has sued smaller players doing this, though not Hims.

In June, Novo abruptly ended its short-lived deal to offer its weight-loss shot on Hims and accused the company of “illegal mass compounding and deceptive marketing.” The drugmaker reportedly expected Hims to stop selling copycat versions if it were to carry the FDA-approved, brand-name product.

“We’ve seen this cycle play out repeatedly: branded manufacturers raise concerns, regulators move slowly, and compounders move quickly to meet demand in the gray areas of the market,” said Michael Schnell, consumer health expert at West Monroe. “Until there is clearer enforcement or new rules, that dynamic is unlikely to change.”

Hims CEO Andrew Dudum told analysts on its most recent earnings call in November that it was again in talks with Novo to potentially reforge a deal. That looks increasingly unlikely after today’s announcement.

Novo’s Wegovy pill is the first oral GLP-1 for weight loss to come to market. The drugmaker has been pushing its Wegovy pill through Hims’ competitors, and early signs show uptake is strong and predominantly coming from people who have never taken a GLP-1 before versus those switching from injections.

Despite this, the company said on Tuesday that it expects sales to take a hit from growing competition from other drugmakers. Its top rival, Eli Lilly, is expected to release its own GLP-1 pill in April.

Matt Phillips1h

Why software shares are withstanding the war jitters

The outbreak of the war in Iran has clearly rattled investors and created a few clear winners — mostly energy stocks — and losers — consumer staples, airlines, and, well, more or else everything else.

But there is one interesting outlier to that Manichaean market dynamic.

Software shares — often the same companies that the market was giving up for dead just a few weeks ago due to overexpectations of an AI-driven disruption — have been holding up remarkably well.

These companies, including Intuit, ServiceNow, Datadog, Snowflake, IBM, Workday, and Oracle, have actually had a pretty decent run since the war started with a combined US-Israeli attack on Iran last weekend.

A new note from RBC Capital’s Rishi Jaluria suggests this isn’t just a fluke. Looking at the performance of software stocks during periods of geopolitical stress and market volatility over the last 10 and 25 years, his team found that software shares appear fairly well insulated when these broader shocks hit. RBC wrote:

“The defensive nature of SaaS models and the mission-critical nature of many core software systems at the enterprise level (e.g., in the absence of mass layoffs that may create seat-based headwinds, geopolitical uncertainty and/or market volatility typically will not cause an enterprise CIO to consider ripping out their ERP, CRM, Cyber systems, etc.”

I briefly got Jaluria on the phone yesterday, and he explained a bit more about why he thinks investors might see software as a decent place to hide out from the current chaos.

“With everything in the Middle East, you have to think about not just oil and gas input prices but also supply chains,” he said. “With software, you’re not really thinking about that.”

In other words, there is no equivalent of a closure of the Strait of Hormuz that software investors have to worry about.

Others suggested that the near-term profitability of these giant software companies — aside from concerns about potential long-term disruption from AI — may look different in the face of the economic uncertainty that seems to be growing with the war, especially after a sell-off that has left them relatively attractively valued.

Mark Moerdler, who covers software stocks for Bernstein Research, says that while the AI worries are clearly real, software companies continue to be highly productive cash cows.

“Everyone is afraid that AI is a massive disruptor, and all these articles you read talk about AI as massive disruptor or the world is ending or whatever,” he said. “You don’t see it in the fundamental numbers of the companies I cover. They are delivering GAAP profits, free cash flow, and they’re good investment ideas.”

Max Knoblauch

Jet fuel refining margins are surging to 20-year highs amid Iran war, threatening airlines

According to a Deutsche Bank note on Friday, airlines haven’t seen this phenomenon since the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

Matt Phillips4h

The slow-motion private credit crunch continues

You may have missed it, what with the Iran war, the price of oil spiking, or the ongoing questions about the durability — and future profitability — of the AI capex boom.

But there are clear signs of malaise in private credit markets — the massive corporate bond and loan markets that typically burble away quietly in the background while the stock markets garner the headlines.

The Financial Times reported on Friday:

“BlackRock has limited withdrawals from one of its flagship private credit funds following a surge in redemption requests, as investors retreat from the asset class and questions about credit quality intensify...

The decision to cap withdrawals at 5 per cent will be closely scrutinised by the industry as outflows climb across semi-liquid private credit funds. The vehicles have drawn in hundreds of billions of dollars from retail investors and wealthy individuals who were enticed by the high returns on offer but have started to bolt at the first signs of stress.”

That news follows an unsettling recent pattern of private credit firms telling investors they cannot have their money back on demand, most notably Blue Owl last month, which also limited redemptions.

Normally the goings-on of the credit markets are of little interest to stock jockeys. But the concerns about credit have started to bleed into the stock market, too.

Of the S&P 500’s 11 industry groups — known as sectors — the financial sector (Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund) is by far the year’s worst performer, down more than 9% in 2026, with firms with links to private credit such as Ares Management, Blackstone, KKR & Co., and Apollo Global Management some of the worst performers. They’re all down more than 20% since the start of the year.

If investors were looking for another thing to worry about, this would likely be a good one to add to the list.

BlackRock limits redemptions at private credit fund as outflows swell

The Financial Times reported on Friday:

“BlackRock has limited withdrawals from one of its flagship private credit funds following a surge in redemption requests, as investors retreat from the asset class and questions about credit quality intensify...

The decision to cap withdrawals at 5 per cent will be closely scrutinised by the industry as outflows climb across semi-liquid private credit funds. The vehicles have drawn in hundreds of billions of dollars from retail investors and wealthy individuals who were enticed by the high returns on offer but have started to bolt at the first signs of stress.”

That news follows an unsettling recent pattern of private credit firms telling investors they cannot have their money back on demand, most notably Blue Owl last month, which also limited redemptions.

Normally the goings-on of the credit markets are of little interest to stock jockeys. But the concerns about credit have started to bleed into the stock market, too.

If investors were looking for another thing to worry about, this would likely be a good one to add to the list.

Luke Kawa

US employment unexpectedly contracts in February, unemployment rate rises to 4.4%

Event contracts indicate a rate cut in June is a now a very live possibility.

Qatar energy minister warns of potential oil spike to $150 within weeks

“Most of the folks who appreciate just how bullish the US-Israel-Iran war is for oil markets think it’s SO WILDLY BULLISH that they can’t imagine this lasting much longer,” wrote Rory Johnston, founder of Commodity Context.

Hyunsoo Rim, Luke Kawa6h